Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief.
The fast (sawm) begins at dawn and ends at sunset each day, so Muslims will not eat or drink during daylight hours.
This annual observance is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
And, with Ramadan 2016 just starting, we have a few healthy and balanced meals the NHS have recommended to eat throughout the month.
They all sound delicious but if they don't tickle your taste buds don't worry we have some appetizers, main courses, and, of course (our favourite meal of the day), desserts, ready for you to cook at home.
Appetizers
Paneer Bread Rolls
Ingredients
Bread - 6 pieces
Paneer (crumbled) - 150 grams
Capsicum (finely chopped) - 1/4 cup
Green peas - 1/4 cup
Green coriander (finely chopped) - 2 to 3 tbsp
Ginger - 1 tsp paste
Green chilly (finely chopped) - 2
Chaat masala - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Oil - for frying
Directions
For full instructions on how to cook Paneer Bread Rolls, not to mention plenty of other tasty recipes, visit Indian Express now.
Veggie Spring Rolls
Ingredients
Carrots (peeled and julienned) - 1
Red capsicum (cut into thin strips) - 1
Shelled peas (boiled) - 1/4 cup
Spring onion (chopped) - 1/4 cup
Noodles - 100g
Oil - 2 tbsp
Chowmein seasoning - 5 tsps
Thai rice paper sheets - 8
Salt
Directions
For full instructions on how to cook Steamed Veggie Spring Rolls, not to mention plenty more delicious Iftar recipes, visit Indian Express now.
Adas Rishta
Ingredients
Macaroni pasta - ½ cup
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Medium onion (chopped) - 1
Garlic cloves (finely chopped) - 4
Dried green lentils (washed well) - 1 cup
Water - 6 cups
Maggi chicken less salt stock bouillon cube - 3 cups
Coriander leaves (chopped) - 1 cup
Directions
Want to know how to cook this yummy meal? Visit Nestle Family now.
Baked potatoes with shrimps
Ingredients
Medium potatoes - 12
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp
Medium onion (finely chopped) - 1
Mushrooms (sliced) - 1½ cups
Small shrimps (peeled) - 750 g
Fresh milk - 1½ cups
Maggi Chicken Stock Bouillon Cube - 2 cubes
Fresh dill (finely chopped) - ½ cup
Ground black pepper - ½ tsp
Corn flour (diluted in 2 tablespoons of water) - 1½ tbsp
Directions
Fancy trying this one for yourself? Click through to Nestle Family to learn how to make it.
Mudardara/Mujaddara
Ingredients
Water - 6 cups
Green lentil (washed and drained) - 2¼ cups
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Medium onion (sliced) - 1
MAGGI vegetable stock - 2 cubes
American rice (soaked for one hour and drained) - 1 cup
Ground cumin - 1 tsp
Ground cinnamon - ½ tsp
Directions
Learn how to make it here.
Potato and Rice Kibbeh
Ingredients
Basmati rice (washed) - 2 cups
Water - 3 cups
MAGGI white rice seasoning - 2 cubes
Medium potatoes (boiled and peeled) - 2
For the stuffing:
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp
Medium onions (chopped) - 2
Minced lamb - ½ kg
Curry powder - 1 tbsp
MAGGI mutton stock (crumbled) - 2 cubes
Pine seeds (toasted) - 3 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Fresh dill (freshly dill) - 1/4 cup
Vegetable oil (for deep frying) - 2 cups
Directions
Click here to learn how to make it.
Savory Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
Zucchinis (skinned and grated) - 3
Garlic cloves (minced) - 2
White onion (minced) - 1/3
Egg - 1
Cup flour - ¾
Parmesan cheese - 1 tbsp
Fresh parsley - 2 tbsp
Grapeseed oil (for frying)
Directions
Get the full instructions for this recipe, and plenty more, over at My Halal Kitchen.
Eggplant topped with Garlic Yogurt
Ingredients
Medium eggplants - 4
Oil (for deep frying) - 3 cups
Water - 1 cup
MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube (dissolved in 1 cup of water) - 1 cube
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground pepper
Yogurt - ½ cup
Milk powder - 3 tbsp
Cloves garlic (crushed) - 2
Onion (cut into thin slices and fried)- 50 g
Directions
Learn how to make it here.
Mains
Here are our recommendations for your main meal:
Mansaf
Ingredients
Lamb shoulder meat (cut into large pieces) - 1 kg
Water - 4 cups
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Medium onions (chopped) - 2
MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 1 cube
Ground black pepper - ¾ tsp
Sweet pepper - ¾ tsp
Ground cumin - ¾ tsp
Ground coriander - ¾ tsp
Ground cloves - ¾ tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1
Pine seeds (toasted) - ½ cup
Almonds (toasted) - ½ cup
Fresh parsley (chopped) - 3 tbsp
For the yoghurt sauce:
Yogurt - 2½ cups
Corn flour - 1½ tbsp
Directions
Click here to learn how to cook it.
Samak Eish
Ingredients
Vegetable oil (for frying) - 2 cups
Hammour (cleaned and cut into 4 pieces) - 1500g
Medium onion (diced) - 1
Cloves garlic (crushed) - 2
Small green chili pepper (chopped) - 1
Dried limes (cut into halves) - 2
Coriander leaves (chopped) - 1 tbsp
Ground cardamom - ½ tsp
Ground black pepper - 1/4 tsp
MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes
Medium tomato (peeled and diced) - 1
Tomato paste - 4 tbsp
Water - 4½ cups
Basmati rice - 2½ cups
Directions
Learn how to make this delicious recipe here.
Linguini with Prawns and Almond Pesto
Ingredients
For the grilled prawns:
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 3 tbsp
Ground cumin - ½ tsp
Sea salt - 2 tsp
Tiger prawns (shells removed and deveined) - 750g
For the almond pesto:
Almond powder - ½ cup
Cloves garlic (crushed) - 2
Medium green chili pepper - 1
Extra virgin olive oil - ½ cup
Fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped) - 4 tbsp
Fresh parsley (roughly chopped) - 4 tbsp
Fresh mint - 7 leaves
Medium tomatoes (peeled, de-seeded and diced) - 2
Linguini pasta/thick pasta - 1 packet
Water - 8 cups
Hot water - ½ cup
MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes
Directions
Click here to learn how to cook it.
Tortellini with Spinach Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Butter - 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Shallots (finely chopped) - 3 medium
Cloves garlic (finely chopped) - 3
Water - ½ cup
MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes
Cream - 2 cups
Baby spinach leaves (fresh)- 400g
Black pepper (cracked and fresh) - ½ tsp
Ground nutmeg - ½ tsp
Parmesan cheese - ¼ cup
Cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen) - 450 g
Water - 8 cups
Roquefort cheese - ½ cup
Directions
Click here to learn how to cook this recipe.
Veal Parmesan
Ingredients
For the sauce:
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Medium onion (chopped) - 1
Garlic (finely chopped) - 3 cloves
Tomato paste - 1 tbsp
Water - ½ cup
MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes
Medium sized tomatoes (chopped) - 8
Dried basil - 1 tsp
Dried rosemary - 1 tsp
For the veal cutlets:
Veal, escalope (cutlers) flattened - 400 g
Breadcrumbs (fresh) - 1 cup
Parmesan cheese - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Eggs (well beaten) - 2
Vegetable oil (for frying) - 3 tbsp
Spaghetti - 1 packet
Water - 6 cups
Mozzarella cheese - 1½ cups
Fresh parsley (finely chopped) - 2 tbsp
Directions
Learn how to cook it here.
Plantain Shallow Fry
Ingredients
Plantain/Raw banana/Kaccha kela - 1
Oil - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds/Jerra - ½ tsp
Mustard seeds/Rai - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds powder/Dhaniya - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder/Haldi - ½ tsp
Salt/Namek - ½ tsp
Directions
Love the sound of this one? Visit Indian Khana to learn how to cook it.
Shish Barak with Yogurt
Ingredients
Yoghurt - 6 cups
Egg yolk (beaten) - 1
Water - ½ cup
Corn flour (dissolved in the egg yolk and water) - 2 tbsp
Cloves garlic (crushed) - 2
Coriander leaves (finely chopped) - ½ cups
MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes
White ground pepper - ½ tsp
Ready-made shish barak - 500 g
Directions
Learn how to cook it here.
Desserts
And here are a few desserts we think you might want to try.
Dry Fig Dates and Nuts Roll
Ingredients
Dry figs - 20 pieces
Dates - 1½ cups
Walnut - 1/3 cups
Almond - 1/3 cups
Cashew nuts - 1/3 cup
Nutmeg powder - ½ tsp
Desiccate coconut - ¾ cup
Water - 1 cup
Silver varq
Directions
Click here to learn how to cook it.
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
Nestle Sweetened Condensed milk - 1 tin
Butter (melted) - 100g
Water - 225ml
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
Plain flour - 200g
Eggs - 2
Egg yolk - 1
Cocoa powder - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tbsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - ¼ tsp
Yoghurt - 1 tbsp
For the icing:
Butter - 2 tbsp
Cocoa powder - 4 tbsp
Icing sugar - ¾ cup
Boiling water - 1½ tbsp
Directions
Click here to learn how to make it.
Mohallabiah Strawberries Cake
Ingredients
For the base:
Digestive biscuits (crumbled) - 2½ cups
Butter - ½ cup
For the filling:
Nestle sweetened condense milk - 1 tin
Water - 2 cups
Corn flour - ½ cup
Blossom water - 1 tbsp
Strawberries (trimmed, washed and cut into halves) - 500 g
Strawberry jam - 5 tbsp
Directions
Click here to learn how to cook it.
Watermelon milkshake
Ingredients
Nestle sweetened condensed milk - 1 tin
Watermelon (chilled, cut into cubes and with the seeds removed) - 750 g
Vanilla powder - 1 tsp
Ice cubes - 3
Directions
Learn how to cook it here.
And if you're pregnant here is everything you need to know about fasting during your pregnancy.
Let us know what you plan on eating during Ramadan on our Twitter or Facebook (@CloserOnline) page.